(Chelsea Update would like to thank Tom Hodgson and the Waterloo Natural History Association for the photos and information in this column.
The “snipe hunt” is a trick played on novice campers who are sent out in the middle of the night with a pair of horseshoes and a burlap sack. They are told that clanging the horseshoes together will attract a snipe that can then be caught in the sack.
Of course, it doesn’t work. And as a result many people don’t believe that snipe really exist.
The snipe is a real game bird, but its zigzag flight makes it one of the most difficult to shoot. Only the most skilled marksmen are successful in bringing one down. Those hunters that exhibit such skills are called snipers, a term later adopted by the military.
Wilson’s snipe, is its official name. It is a rather chunky shorebird with a short neck and short legs. Its long bill is flexible. The tip can be opened and closed with no movement at the base of the bill.
Sensory pits at the tip of the bill allow the snipe to feel its prey deep in the mud. Feeding involves probing deep into the mud for hidden tubers, invertebrates, mollusks, and crustaceans.
When the cranes are making their return to the Waterloo Area in spring, so is the Wilson’s snipe. Its courtship sounds often go unnoticed, as they are they are softer than the booming calls of the sandhill crane.
The male snipe makes a low, hollow, whistled sound called “winnowing” to defend territory and attract mates. It is not a vocal sound, but rather is produced by air flowing over the outstretched tail feathers.
The outer tail feathers are greatly modified to produce the sound and are thin and curved. The sound produced is a rapid whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop.
Those who visit one of the larger local marshes in the Waterloo Area or elsewhere this spring, may hear these courtship sounds and see the males flying high above.
To listen to the snipe’s sound click here.
